Friday, August 13, 2010

Daily Life 021: Happy Meal



At nearly two and a quarter years old, Abby still amazes me daily with the new things that she's capable of. She's a kid now, definitely no longer my baby girl. I think she shed the last little bit of that in the months leading up to Olivia being born. She's capable of a great many physical feats (which are ALL awesome), but what amazes me most is the language. I think that there is a feeling that we have, that two-year-olds still don't have many words. That they can't have a conversation. Well. Abby can tell you who all seven of the original members of the Justice League are. Depending on how she feels, she will tell you what she did today. If she went to the pool, or rode on a train, she will tell you about that... Usually for the next two or three days.

The first time I remember this happening was late in the spring. I asked what she wanted for dinner, and in her tiny voice she clearly said, "Happy Meal". Maybe this is a sign that we ate out too much this spring?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Neglect and the problem with To-Do lists

First off, Neglect... Just noticed it's been two weeks since my last post. In case any of you weren't counting, that's about one week and four days too long. It irritates me (not a huge amount, because I actually do realize that people have lives) when I check into my blogs, and it's been forever since an update. The funny thing about that is how often I'm guilty of the same thing. So... To sum up. I've neglected the blog. I'm sorry. Here's to doing better.

Second. The problem with To-Do lists. No matter how much you get done, they keep on growing. Also, it's tempting to do the easy (and usually less important) stuff first, just so that you can mark something off the list. Meanwhile bigger and more important stuff piles up on the back end. Ugh. I think that lists are a great way to sort out the things that need doing, but also that they tend to lead to a procrastination/burden/neglect cycle. I put stuff off, and seeing those items on the list becomes a burden to me. I hate carrying all that weight, but hope that if I ignore it long enough maybe it'll fall off my back unaided. Usually when that happens, it's a bad thing. The point of talking this through here, is partly to help myself "get over it", and get some stuff done, partly to (I'll be honest here) get something off my list (Do a blog post) and partly to assuage my guilt about doing a post that's a plug for something else (the rest of that list item) without giving some actual content.

As you know, I cleaned up the studio recently. Part of the point of that, was to actually organize all the artwork I have hanging around so that I could set up my shop on Etsy, a website for buying and selling original, handmade art.

I did this in college, as part of my degree focus in Studio Art: Printmaking. Working at the Wal-mart at the time led me to feel like just another numberless cog in a vast machine. On the plus side though, the job was mindless enough that it essentially left me 8 hours a day to think (earnestly, as all college kids do) about the world, my place in it, and how I felt about it. There's a reason, I guess why they say you find your self at college. Digesting and synthesizing all of these new ideas are what helps define the people we are going to be. Here's the description of this artwork from the shop.

The struggle between the natural world and the world of technology is an old one, but seems to be getting more desperate. When the robots capture and imprison a natural wizard, he eventually begins to go mad and starts talking to himself.

This signed and numbered, one color lithograph was created with black ink on cream colored paper, giving it a rich, earthy appearance that lends itself well to the subject matter. Measuring 10" x 14", it looks great matted in a frame and its "not too big, not too small" size allows it to fill out the decor in any room.

I've been updating the shop every day or two, adding new items, and will eventually be adding actual new work, prints, and clip art. So if you're interested, come check it out here.

One last note. Does anybody know how to organize the blog into sections. For instance, I'd like to collect all my self portraits into a tab of their own, all of the Daily Life into a tab of their own, etc. Any help would be appreciated!

Until next time, Take care and be good!
Your friend,
Jeffrey